Mexico: a culinary travelogue, an adventure for the palate, mind, and spirit.

Comments about Mexico Cooks!

"The most powerful English-language website in the world about Mexican cuisine is Mexico Cooks!, by the culinary writer Cristina Potters. She travels everywhere to investigate and bring the information to the world..." Culinaria Mexicana, http://www.culinariamexicana.com.mx

"...the famous Mexican food blogger from Morelia, Cristina Potters, who I consider to be right up there with Diana Kennedy and Rick Bayless..." Puerto Vallarta Information, Our Vallarta.

"It was inspiring to be around all your knowledge and network of wonderful people that you got together to show us the magic of Michoacán! I can see why you love it so much. Not only is it physically beautiful but the spirit of the people is engaging and contagious. We left feeling so well received and in awe of the talent of Michoacanos, and we felt that we learned so much! ! Everyone at the school was impressed by the dulces [candies] and the artesanías [arts and crafts] we brought back. If it hadn't been for you, we never could have seen and done so much...You are incredible!"...Susana Trilling, Seasons of My Heart, Oaxaca.

Mexico Cooks! has been featured in:
--Lonely Planet Mexico
--The New York Times
--Afar Travel Magazine
--Time Out Mexico
--The London Times
--El Mural, Guadalajara
--South China Daily Post
--and travel websites all over the world!

"Cristina - the support and good wishes of Mexico aficionados/experts such as yourself is sincerely appreciated. I am in total awe of your amazing blog which has to rate as one of the all-time most fascinating displays of Mexico-related knowledge, erudition and insight ever compiled - surely, a book must follow!"...Tony Burton, author, Geo-Mexico (release date January 2010) and Western Mexico, A Traveller's Treasury (1992).

"The article about Lila Downs is passionate, goose-bump producing writing by a true master of writing, the MEXICAN SPIRIT and life itself. The line 'OUR BEST SELVES' made me swoon. I love many Mexican women but top 3: Frida, Cristina and Lila. Viva la vida!"...Rosa de Chicago y Morelia

"Looking at your blog, and viewing the images of the the people, places the food, truly bring back fond memories of my childhood. For that I thank you. Your blog is making Michoacán call out to me. I truly thank you for what you're doing with your blog, hopefully we'll meet someday if I make it to "God's Country" in Mexico. My mother's beautiful Michoacan! I truly think it's time..." Ollie Malca

"Thank you for your truly insightful, intelligent blog! Few are so thoughtful and well researched as yours. I'm hooked! Each and every article is just fantastic! I look forward to reading many more posts, please keep them coming! xo"...MexChic

"American-born Cristina Potters, like British cookery-book writer Diana Kennedy who preceded her, looks at the cuisine of her adopted country with the fresh eyes of an immigrant but also with the knowledge of a long-time resident of Mexico..." South China Morning Post, 6/24/09

"American-born Cristina Potters is a writer and blogger living in Morelia, Michoacán. Her blog
is the most compelling and well-informed blog about Mexican food and culture to be found on the web. Cristina writes weekly about food and drink, art,
culture and travel."...Lonely Planet Mexico Guide, 2009.

Books, Music, Equipment

Tom Gilliland: Fonda San Miguel: Forty Years of Food and ArtIt was my privilege to write new text and re-write other text for this lovely new version of stories and recipes from Fonda San Miguel, Austin, TX.
If you only want to add one new Mexico cookbook to your shelves this year, let it be this one! Tom Gilliland, Miguel Rávago, and the entire Fonda San Miguel team will make your home kitchen a showplace of fine Mexican cooking.
(*****)

Betty Fussell: The Story of CornThink you know about corn and its history? Betty Fussell's book is chock-a-block with stories, laughter (who would have thought!) and everything you need to know to understand the critical importance of corn in the life of the world. (*****)

Earl Shorris: The Life and Times of MexicoWithout question the best history of Mexico that I have ever read. Shorris deftly leads the reader from before the Christian era to the Fox administration in a way that opens our minds and eyes to Mexico as it really is. (*****)

April 04, 2009

Chocolate:: El Gozo de Un Manjar de Dios: Savoring the Ambrosia of the Gods

The tiny storefront with the hand-lettered sign JoaquinitaChocolate Supremo is at Calle Enseñanza #38 in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.

In Pátzcuaro, the tradition of chocolate de metate (stone-ground chocolate) is still alive, personified by Sra. María Guadalupe García López. Doña Lupe, as she is called by everyone who knows her, continues the work started in Pátzcuaro in 1898. The family recipe for chocolate de metate was left to her as a legacy by her mother-in-law. Rightly proud of her hand-ground chocolate, Doña Lupe said, "I'm convinced that by now, just about everyone in the whole world knows about chocolate de metate, and everyone who tastes it falls in love with it."

Costales (huge burlap bags) of raw cocoa beans from the state of Tabasco. Doña Lupe stores the costales in a cool spot in her sótano (basement).

In Pátzcuaro, there are several home-based businesses which make chocolate that claims to be made on the metate, but its preparation and commercialization are not authentic. Doña Lupe says that Joaquinita Chocolate has no locations other than
her home. "Some of the chocolate makers here in town claim to be my
children or my grandchildren, but they're not. They're not part of
Joaquinita Chocolate." Joaquinita Chocolate is not only the best known, but is also completely authentic in its preparation.

From the sidewalk, the house is unprepossessing. It looks like most houses in the central part of Pátzcuaro: painted white, with a deep, ochre-red base. But come closer, step up to the door: you'll be stopped in your tracks by the rich fragrance of home made chocolate. Breathe. Walk in. You'll never learn the jealously guarded secret of Doña Lupe's recipe, but you'll taste one of the legendary treats of Mexico's past and present.

Lovely Doña Lupe is ready to drop a tablet of her chocolate semiamargo (semisweet) into a pitcher of near-boiling water, just as in the story, "Like Water for Chocolate". The molinillo (hand-carved wooden chocolate whip) beats the melted chocolate into a thick froth and it's ready to serve.

Chocolate was unknown to Spain and to the rest of Europe in 1519, when Cortés arrived on the shores of the New World. Moctezuma and the highly-placed leaders in his court knew its subtleties; Cortés was soon initiated into its delights. Mixed with vanilla and other spices including chile, xocolatl (shoh-coh-LAH-tl) needed to be mixed with water and beaten to a heavy froth before being consumed unsweetened. Europeans quickly discovered that a bit of sugar took away the bitterness and enhanced the flavors of the new drink. Before long, chocolate was the rage of Europe as well as a near-addiction for Europeans in the New World.

The process of making chocolate estilo Doña Lupe (Doña Lupe-style chocolate) starts with the finest beans from the state of Tabasco, in southern Mexico. Doña Lupe says that the seed (what we usually call the cocoa bean) has to be the best, or else the chocolate loses its texture and its flavor. She won't use a lesser bean.

Toasting cocoa beans over a wood fire requires constant stirring. The fogón is shaped like a horseshoe to accommodate the cazuela.

While the carbón (natural wood charcoal) heated on the fogón (raised fire ring), Doña Lupe talked about making chocolate de metate. "First we take as many beans from the costal (large bag) as we need for the day. Normally, I make 20 to 30 kilos of chocolate tablets every day.

"Next I clean the beans, taking out any small stones, any leaves--anything that would adulterate the chocolate" Doña Lupe dipped into the huge bag of cocoa beans and put them by handfuls into an harnero (strainer), sifting through them as she poured them through her fingers, shaking the strainer to get rid of any tiny impurities. She put the cleaned cocoa beans into a cazuela de barro (deep clay cooking vessel).

The large aluminum pot in the foreground holds ground cocoa beans that shortly will become a smooth, rich masa de cacao (sweetened chocolate for tablets).

Doña Lupe's chocolate kitchen, in the lower level of her home, is furnished with traditional petate (woven reed) mats for warmth, while the room where the costales of cacao beans are stored is kept cool to preserve the beans.

Doña Lupe grinds cocoa beans the old-fashioned way, using a metate and mano. A small fire (under the metate) keeps the metate and the cocoa beans hot during the grinding process.

Doña Lupe uses a metal mold to form the sweetened soft chocolate into individual tablets. The top of the tablet of sweetened soft chocolate is scored into four quarters with the metal round to the left in the photograph.

The tablets air-dry in the warmth of the chocolate kitchen. The tablets that are scored in half are chocolate amargo: unsweetened chocolate. Both chocolatesemiamargo (semisweet chocolate for making hot chocolate) and chocolate amargo sell well.

When the chocolate is completely dry, Doña Lupe packages it in pink paper. A packet of sweet chocolate contains nine tablets. A packet of chocolate amargo contains seven.

She glues the label to the package and the chocolate is ready to sell.

This hand-embroidered tablecloth in Doña Lupe's dining room depicts cups and pots of hot chocolate, as well as the saying, "Chocolate Joaquinita, Industria Casera Desde 1898" (Cottage Industry since 1898).

Mexico Cooks! would love to know the proportions of chocolate, sugar, and cinnamon that Doña Lupe uses to make her chocolate tablets, but then she wouldn't have a secret recipe. We contented ourselves with buying a package of chocolate amargo (for baking) and a package of sweetened chocolate (for preparing hot chocolate). When you're in Pátzcuaro, be sure to stop in at Joaquinita Chocolate Supremo for your own supply of traditional chocolate.

Entirely Worth Knowing

Cocina al NaturalCelia Marín and Sonia Ortiz of Mexico City bring us an appetizing look at simple, natural, home-style (and predominately Mexican) recipes that are easy to understand and prepare in your own kitchen. Currently the website is in Spanish, but watch for English subtitles, coming soon!

Noteworthy

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